Chapter 10
It was a long, quiet flight as we flew Ra` Tain’s body back to Le` Than’s crater. I sent a message ahead so that Le` Than could prepare for me, ten attendants, and fifty guard that flew in escort. We arrived in the center square about three hours after the sun rose. Ra` Tain’s family was waiting for us at the far end of the square. We landed a respectful distance away and carried the body the rest of the way. I gave a bow of respect to Ra` Tain’s mother and father.
I stepped to the side so that they could see Ra` Tain. I looked at Ra` Tain’s father, “It is my life that he gave his to protect. To avenge his death I ripped the head off of the offender and declared war with the Empire. To show Ra` Tain the respect due to him I gave him the funeral rites of the Clan Chiefs as he had just as much claim to be heir to Clan Sa` Tain as I do. I return your son to you so that he may rest with his ancestors.”
His father gave me a bow, “We thank you for the honor that you have shown Ra` Tain and his family. When you fly to war I and my House shall fly with you even if no other member of Clan Sa` Tain takes to the air.”
I returned the bow, “I thank you and you House.”
I left my guard with instructions to escort Ra` Tain to his final resting place and went inside to find Le` Than. I found him holding court so I sent a message stating that I was here and would be in the office in my wing of the castle. I sent two of my attendants to the kitchen to get some food brought up and headed for my office.
The food had just arrived when Le` Than walked into the office. I smiled, “Your welcome to join me for a late breakfast. We have several things to talk about.”
He smiled back, “I would be happy to. Nicely handled on the funeral, by the way. That family has been known to be a bit temperamental.”
“Thank you. Do you want to get down to business first of enjoy the food?”
“Food first then we can talk about everything.”
As we ate I let him know how the city was coming along and that I was getting worn out trying to live in two different worlds. I thanked him for the blood wine that he had sent and let him know that I needed more. He updated me on what has been going on in the crater. We finally finished breakfast and let the attendants clear the dishes away.
We dismissed all of the guards and attendants and he looked at me, “What happened Yarianna? Why do I suddenly find that you are going to war with the Kymiran Empire?”
“My city was discovered by a patrol of the Imperial Army. One of the lieutenants appeared on our doorstep and demanded entrance. I might have let him in if he hadn’t been so rude to begin with. He insulted me in front of my guard and then attempted to kill me. He would have succeeded had Ra` Tain not taken the crossbow bolt meant for me.”
“Crossbow? I thought the Empire was using more advanced weapons.”
“They are. I don’t think the commanding officer of the patrol knew what his lieutenant was up to until I sent the head back. I think that the lieutenant had heard rumors of a hidden cache of Imperial silver and thought to claim it for himself. It was a big inconvenience to him that the city he thought to find it in was occupied.”
“I see. Would you like me to go to war with you?”
“Yes. Our kind have hid in the shadows for far too long. It’s about time we remind the world of what we are.”
“Very well. I will call a war council to meet first thing in the morning. Is there anything else that you have on your mind?”
“Yes actually. I want to know exactly what happened between you and Valora.”
He went very still and asked, “Why do you want to know that? Didn’t you say that you saw the memory stone?”
“Yes, but that is only her point of view. I would like to know yours.”
He sat for a while and seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Finally he started talking.
“The Kymirans were rampaging through kingdom after kingdom. With in a few months four smaller kingdoms had signed treaties with the Empire because they had no other choice. The Empire could simply overrun them with troops after the killed the monarch and put whoever they wanted on the throne. They had done it with one of the Greater Kingdoms, Northern Steppes I believe, the year before.
“I told her not to worry about it. We had the warriors that we could keep the Empire out of Solstice for as long as it took them to get tired of throwing away lives. The day she signed the treaty I was on my way to this crater to bring some of the warriors that had just graduated from the academy with me back to Solstice. I happened to look back and saw General Khoman’s banner outside of the Capital so I rushed back to Valora.
“I had to fight my way into the castle because General Khoman’s troops had already subdued her guard. I tried to convince her, but she signed the treaty anyway. Part of the treaty stated that all Kier within the boundary of the new province were to be exterminated.
“As you know that pendant you are wearing is only worn by the Heir of the Clan Chief. By signing the treaty she had betrayed my people to the Empire. With bloodlust still flowing hot from the fight up to her I wasn’t thinking clearly and I overreacted. By the time I cooled down enough to realize she was trying to tell me something important she was already out of the castle.
“I tried to track her down, but she was very good at not being found. She had a way of disguising her feeling so that even the best trackers couldn’t find her. Some time later I ran into her court wizard, who informed me that she had died. I wasn’t able to see exactly how she died because I don’t have the gift for reading memory stones outside of blood relatives. After that I was done with trying to get people to accept us so I gathered everybody that I could and came here.
I knew that I hadn’t gotten everybody so I sent out scouts to track down the ones that I had missed. Most of the time I wound up finding descendants that didn’t even realize who they were. It was then that I discovered that Valora had given birth to a daughter, my daughter. Suddenly everything that had happened that day made sense.
“I started tracking down the line of daughters and eventually found you. I regretted my choices that let my own child grow up without knowledge of her heritage and decided that I would offer her descendant the opportunity to be my heir like she should have been to begin with. When I found you I sent Sk` Yler to keep an eye on you to see if you would be able to handle what it takes to be the Heir of Clan Sa` Tain. I believe you know the rest of the story.”
“Yes, I do. You, however are still missing a few important details.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for one, your daughter and her children were not entirely ignorant of what their heritage. Your daughter was found by Valora’s court wizard and given the memory stones. Through those stones we have learned about our other side, our Kier side. Granted it would have been much better and less would have been lost throughout time if we had learned from our people. The next bit of information depends on the answer to my next question.”
“Ok. What is the question?”
“Does the entire Clan Sa` Tain go to war with me or will it depend on what the council rules?”
“We go to war with or without the other Clans. This council is to determine which, if any, of the other Clans will join us. Does that answer satisfy you?”
“Yes. It does. Valora is not dead.”
“Say that again. I think I may have misunderstood you.”
“I said that Valora is still alive.”
“Everything I have been able to discover said that she died giving birth to my daughter.”
“Yeah, well, she didn’t stay dead. He family was keeping a few secrets as well.”
“She has been alive all this time?”
“Yep. She has also been nursing a grudge against you for your reaction in the throne room. It would be safe to say that if the two of you were ever in the same room there is a good chance she would do her best to skin you alive with nothing but her fingernails.”
He smiled, “She always did have a temper fit for a Kier. I am assuming that you know where she is?”
“Yes, I do. When you come to my city you will have the chance to see her again.”
“Is that why my answer mattered?”
“Part of it. I figured that if you were going to go to war with me you would run into her and you would want to know why this lady was suddenly trying to get a good look at your insides. If you weren’t going to go to war with me then the likelihood of the two of you seeing each other wasn’t very good so you didn’t need to know. I asked you before I told you so that I knew that seeing her wasn’t the reason you were willing to fight with me.”
“Interesting reasoning. If I didn’t know better I would say that you have been doing this your entire life rather then just this past year. How is it that you have learned so fast?”
“I had good teachers. I am going to have to kick you out now though. I haven’t gotten much sleep in the past few days and I want to be well rested for that war council just incase I have to beat some sense into anyone.”
“I almost pray that the other Clans decide to argue on this issue just to see you beat some sense into them.” He stood up, “Good night Yari. Thank you for telling me about Valora.”
“No problem Le` Than. I will see you tomorrow.”
It took me a long time to fall asleep and when I did I kept dreaming that I was running in only my under garments trying to out run statues of Ra` Tain that were throwing pieces of the lieutenant’s body at me. I gave up on sleep and chose to meditate instead. The meditation helped clear my head until I heard Sasha say that it was time to get ready for the war council.
I got dressed in my colors and made my way to the court room where the council was being held. I wasn’t the first one there, but I also wasn’t the last one. When the Head and Heir of all seven Clans were there Le` Than called the council to order.
Le` Than stood up, “The reason I have called this Council is the discuss the possibility of going to war. I turn the time over to my Heir to explain the details. Yarianna the Council is yours.”
He sat down and I stood up. I looked around at the table, “Heads of the Clans and Heirs, I stand before you this day to tell you that with or without your support I go to war. Several days ago a patrol of Imperial soldiers stumbled upon my city. A small group tried to enter my city and were denied. While trying to get them to leave one of my Guard was shot by a crossbow bolt meant for me and died because of the wound. I removed the head of the one who pulled the trigger and sent it back with a message for the patrol to get off of my doorstep.
The patrol retreated and requested a meeting. I went prepared to fight and found the commanding officer had no knowledge of why the lieutenant, whose head I ripped off, was even near the city. We reached an understanding that bought me enough time to return my Guard’s body to his family. I ask that you join me in my fight with the Imperial Army. That’s all that I have to say.”
I watched as one by one each one smiled and stood. “Clan Sa` Tain stands by you.”
“Clan Ta` Rain stands by you.”
“Clan Go` Sean stands by you.”
“Clan Ra` Fain stands by you.”
“Clan De` Cain stands by you.”
“Clan Wa` Roan stands by you.”
“Clan Ad` Raou stands by you.”
I saluted each one of them, “I thank you all. I leave first thing tomorrow to return to my city. I have already been away for too long. Le` Than knows how to find me. If there is nothing else I am going to go on about my day.”
I left and went to spend the rest of the day in the training arena with Skyler. Le` Than joined us out there and soon after the rest of the Clan leaders were there. We had our captains keep track of time for us and split into two teams, Heirs vs. Heads in a melee match.
From the start I knew that this was more then just a way to kill some time. One of our own had been murdered and we had some serious steam to blow off. We matched off and went full force from the start. Our Clan Heads didn’t hold anything back and neither did we. We all fought hard enough that we were actually starting to get tired by the time we were interrupted by our captains.
I didn’t sleep very good that night so the next day I was up early and eager to get back to my city. I stepped out on the courtyard and stopped. As far back as I could see were Kier Warriors with packs loaded and ready to travel. I looked up toward the slope of the crater and saw that more were on the way. I spotted the Clan Heads and made my way to them.
I didn’t have to try and force my way through the crowd or fly over them. They saw me and cleared a path for me to walk. I walked up to them and nodded. They returned the nod. I looked out over the gathering Warriors, “Is there going to be any left behind?”
The Head of Clan Ra` Fain laughed, “It may not look that way, but this is only half of the Warriors. It still amazes me how fast we can gather an army even though our race is born for this.”
“I had come here expecting a response. This is far more then I expected. Thank you all for this.”
“And miss a chance to stick it to the Empire? Not in this lifetime. Thank you for the opportunity to slaughter Imperial soldiers.”
I smiled and Le` Than walked up to the group, “Everybody that is going to be going with us is here. Are we going to travel invisible?”
I looked at all of the Kier that I could see. I shook my head, “No. Let them see us coming.”
Le’ Than nodded, “May I announce our departure? This is your war, but I am still officially in charge.”
“By all means, announce away.”
He launched himself into the sky and used the elements to magnify his voice, “Warriors of the Clans, we have sat in the dark for too long. We gather now because the Empire has taken the life of one of our own for the crime of existing. Soon they will feel our answer to this insult. Let our wings darken their skies. Let our blades drink their life blood. Let them know why their ancestors feared us. Brothers and Sisters, Mothers and Fathers, Children and Parents, Let us go to War. May the Gods have mercy on their souls, for we shall not.”
I feel as though I should explain how the Kier Sona group their Armies. Each Division had thirteen Wings, each Wing had thirteen Sections, each Section had thirteen Patrols, and each Patrol had thirteen Warriors. Within the Patrol there were three Quads and a Focal. Within the Quad there were three Warriors and a Focal. Within the Section the Patrols were divided up into Quad Patrols and Focal Patrols, the Wings were divided into Quad Sections and Focal Sections, and the Divisions were divided up into Quad and Focal Wings. In each Quad the Focal was the commanding officer. A General oversaw each Division, a Captain each Wing, a Lieutenant each Section, a Sergeant each Patrol, and a Fifth Rank Private each Quad in the Patrol. The only exception to this ranking was the Heir’s Division or the Focal Division. In that Division the Heir was the Focal of the Focal Quad, of the Focal Patrol, of the Focal Section, of the Focal Wing of the Focal Division in the Clan’s Army. The three Fifth Rank Privates and the Sergeant formed the Patrol’s Quad and so forth up to the Division. Each commanding officer was able to draw on and channel the energy of any assigned under them, though each Kier was taught that they should only do this as a last resort because of the potential for a single Division to be able to draw enough energy to rip a world in half. As soon as a Kier Sona child graduated from the Academy they were assigned to a Quad. They were not considered part of an Army until they had a full Division. Each Army had three Divisions that was overseen by an Heir. Each Clan used to have three Armies, but that was before the Clan Wars and the forming of the Empire. Now each Clan only had at the most three Divisions.
I launched myself into the air and joined him. The other Heads and Heirs followed behind me and the rest of the gathered Warriors followed in their Division. The seven Clans only took one Division each. We didn’t even try to pretend like we were hiding. We made it back to my city before the Imperial Army arrived. We got the rest of the Clans settled in to the sections of the city that had been cleared away for rebuilding. I called another war council and received reports from my scouts as to where the Imperials were. After that we made our plans to defend my city.
